A research team at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention followed more than 15,000 adults who participated in the Third Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, estimating the direct relationship between concentrations of serum carotene and death. The researchers compared the carotene concentration with death records and found that the individuals with the highest levels of alpha-carotene were more likely to be alive 14 years after they began the study, regardless of their lifestyle, demographics or other health risk factors. The team also linked higher blood alpha-carotene levels to a lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease or cancer, the two top killers in the U.S.
